Sudanese army captures town in North Kordofan after clashes with paramilitary RSF

KHARTOUM / ISTANBUL

The Sudanese army recaptured a town in North Kordofan state from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), local sources told Anadolu on Monday.

The sources said that army forces seized Um Sayala town, 200 kilometers north of the provincial capital El-Obeid, following fierce clashes with RSF militants.

Army soldiers shared on social media platforms videos showing them while entering the town.

There was no immediate comment from the army or the RSF on the report.

The latest takeover comes after the Sudanese army restored its authority over the Umm Dham Haj Ahmad and Kazgil areas in North Kordofan.

Heavy clashes also raged on between the army and the rebel group in Babnousa, the economic hub of North Kordofan and home to a major railway station.

Following the RSF seizure of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, last month, fighting between the rebel group and the Sudanese army spread to new fronts, particularly to the Kordofan region in central and southern Sudan.

The rebel group controls all five Darfur states, out of Sudan’s 18 states, while the army holds most of the remaining 13 states, including Khartoum.
Darfur makes up about one-fifth of Sudan’s territory, but most of the country’s 50 million people live in army-held areas.

The conflict in Sudan between the army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million, according to the World Health Organization.